Milwaukee M18 FUEL Mid-Torque 3/8” Impact Wrench (Tool Only)

I'm already in the Milwaukee ecosystem so bought this wrench last month for $149 and thought it was a screaming deal.

My use case is strictly homeowner working on his own cars or light assembly.

Reviews [youtube.com] show it breaking bolts torqued to 600/ft lbs so unless you're a heavy line mechanic or need to work on farm equipment the 3/8 has plenty of power, is lighter and gets into tighter spaces. Lug nuts on passenger cars and trucks should be no challenge.

If you don't get batteries free from work (heh) be sure to get the lighter, more powerful High Output CP3.0 [milwaukeetool.com] with 21,700 cells (defined by its 21mm x 70mm size.)

Here's the slightly overbearing VCG Construction [youtube.com] guy to explain why.

FWIW the M12 stubby goes for around the same, maybe a few bucks less, and is probably a better overall impact wrench than this for most DIY mechanics who only work on their own cars, because it's smaller and lighter, especially with batteries on, and you'll rarely come across a fastener that it can't handle, including lug and axle nuts and nearly all suspension fasteners. But for those times where it can't, and you don't feel like using a breaker bar with cheater pipe, then this would be a great backup wrench.

If you're only looking to do tire rotations, oil changes and the occasional brake pad/rotor replacement, then it doesn't really matter so might as well get this and be covered for basically all situations (on cars, not trucks). But if you're going to be doing a lot of wrenching, repairs, restoration, maintenance, etc., then you'll definitely appreciate and prefer the M12 stubby over this and basically anything. There's literally nothing out there of comparable power that's as small and light.

Depends on which sockets you have more of. But 3/8" will usually be more common and are thinner sockets overall. Torque Test Channel also found that the M18 3/8" mid torque makes more torque than the 1/2" version.